The
Spink Family of Photographers
Henry
Joseph Spink ( 1838 - 1892 ),
Mrs Sarah Spink ( c1841
-1899 ), Henry
Charles Spink ( c1865 - 1943 ) and Samuel George Spink
(
1868 - 1948 )
Henry
Joseph Spink (1838 -1892)
Origins
According
to his birth certificate, Henry Joseph Spink was born
on 6th July, 1838 at 15 Lisson Grove North, in the Marylebone
district of London, Middlesex. However, in census returns, Henry
J. Spink , for some unknown reason, indicates that he was born
in Marylebone, London around 1842. Henry Joseph Spink was the
son of Charlotte and Henry Spink, an ironmonger by trade.
By 1860, Henry was in Birmingham working as a watchmaker and
jeweller. It was in this city that Henry married Sarah Cooper
( born c 1841, Berkeley, Gloucestershire ) the daughter of Charles
Cooper, a boat builder.
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[
ABOVE ] A Portrait believed to be that of Henry Joseph
Spink ( 1838-1892).i
[ COURTESY
OF DENISE
DAGEN OF NEW SOUTH WALES] .
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Henry
Joseph Spink in Brighton
![](DSspinkP2.jpg)
A carte de visite portrait
taken at Henry Spink's studio at 109 Western Road, Brighton
( c1868)
![](DSspinkP1.jpg)
Portrait of a man with
arms folded by Henry Spink of 109 Western Road, Brighton (c1870).
![](DSspinkP5.jpg)
A carte de visite portrait
taken at Henry Spink's studio at 109 Western Road, Brighton
( c1868)
![](DSspinkP7.jpg)
A carte de visite portrait
taken at Henry Spink's studio at 109 Western Road, Brighton
( c1875 )
RIGHT )
An advertisement for Henry Spinks' two studios, from the
Cliftonville & Hove Mercury, dated Friday 2nd May 1879.
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Henry
Spink and his wife were living in Brighton from about
1864. Their first son, Henry Charles Spink, was born
in Brighton on 27th February 1865 and an advertisement published
by Henry Spink in September 1878, claimed his photographic
studio had been established 15 years, which suggests he arrived
in Brighton before 1864. Henry Spink is first recorded as
a Photographic Artist in the Trades and Professions section
of Page's Brighton Directory of 1865, which would have been
compiled in the latter half of 1864.
In
Page's Directory of 1865, Henry Spink is lIsted as a photographer
at 109 Western Road, Brighton. Previously, 109 Western
Road was occupied by Robert W. Salter, an artist who later
exhibited as a photographer in London. ( By 1864, Salter was
living at 9 Norfolk Road, Brighton, making a living producing
"Photographic Portraits", which he painted in oil
or water colour.) In the Brighton Examiner , dated 20th September
1864, there is an advertisement for The West End Photographic
Company of 109 Western Road, Brighton. The West
End Photographic Company was
a long established firm in London
and appears to have established a branch studio in Brighton
before 1864.
The West End Photographic Company charged only 5 shillings
for a dozen carte de visite portraits ( High class Brighton
studios, such as Mayall's Photographic Portrait Studio
or Hennah & Kent in the Kings Road, charged
a guinea or £1.1s for a dozen cartes de visite).
Henry Spink may have been the manager of the Brighton branch
of the West
End Photographic Company
in
1864, but before the end of the year, he had taken over the
studio and the business was operating under his name. Photographs
produced by Henry Spink in the 1870s carry his name, but carry
the banner "The West End Brighton Studio, 109 Western
Road."
Around 1867, Henry Spink opened a second studio at 70 Kings
Road, Brighton, but this studio lasted less than a year.
( The studio at 70 Kings Road had been established by the
Dickinson Brothers around 1862 and in 1865 was run
by the photographer George Cassinello ). By
the end of 1867 Henry Spink was operating solely from his
studio at 109, Western Road, Brighton.
In 1868, Henry Spink and his family were living at 11, Crown
Street, Brighton, where a second son, Samuel George Spink,
was born on 27th March 1868. Henry Joseph Spink described
himself as an "Artist Photographer and Miniature Painter"
at this time. A carte de visite photograph from this period
carries the following advertisement on the reverse :
THE WEST END BRIGHTON STUDIO,
109
WESTERN ROAD.
MR
HENRY SPINK
ARTIST
PHOTOGRAPHER AND MINIATURE PAINTER. EQUESTRIAN AND THEATRICAL
PORTRAITS TAKEN IN THE MOST ARTISTIC STYLES. MANSIONS, LANDSCAPES,
ANIMALS, TOMBS, STATUARY, etc PHOTOGRAPHED. OIL PAINTINGS
CLEANED OR COPIED. PHOTOGRAPHS COPIED OR ENLARGED TO ANY SIZE
AND PAINTED IN OIL OR WATER COLOURS.PORTRAITS OF DECEASED
PERSONS FAITHFULLY COPIED AND RESTORED. PARTIES ATTENDED AT
THEIR OWN RESIDENCES.
By
the time of the 1871 Census, Henry Spink was living
at 19, Borough Street, Brighton . ( Borough Street and the
previous address in Crown Street both led into Western Road,
where Spink's studio was located ). Henry Spink gives his
age as 29 and describes himself as a "Photographer &
Stationer". Living with him at his house in Borough Street
is Sarah, his 30 year old wife, his two sons, Henry aged six
and Samuel aged three and a 14 year old domestic servant.
In September 1878, Henry J. Spink was advertising a second
studio at Goldstone Villas, Cliftonville.
di![](DSspink70.jpg)
An advertisement on the
back of a Henry Spink carte de visite portrait dating from
around 1870. Notice that Henry Spink called his photographic
business in Western Road, "The West End Brighton Studio"
![](DSspinkAd.jpg)
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CLIFTONVILLE
In
September 1878, Henry J. Spink was advertising a second studio at
Goldstone Villas in the district west of Brighton, then known as Cliftonville,
but now part of Hove.
Before 1851, Hove was a small village separated from Brighton in the
east by a mile of open country. To the east and north east of Hove
was an estate called Cliftonville, which was developed in the
1850s by a syndicate of four businessmen . Charles Fleet writing in
A Handbook of Brighton and its Environs in 1858, commented
that : "Cliftonville sprang into existence with the rapidity
of a Trans-atlantic town. House after house, and villa after villa
seemed to rise by magic." The Ilustrated Times of
February 1859 reported that " there is now no Hove at all
! - nothing as low or common ! Cliftonville , sir, if you please,
the new suburb of Brighton ! filled with new little houses, very pretty
and clean to look at, and awfully genteel little houses".
By
1865, Cliftonville had its own railway station and in the late 1870s
a number of new buildings were constructed along what was then called
Station Road, but was soon to be renamed Goldstone Villas. Henry Spink's
house and studio appears to have been one of the first buildings to
be erected in Goldstone Villas. The entrance of Cliftonville Railway
Station( later renamed West Brighton Station, but now known as Hove
Station ) ran directly on to Goldstone Villas and Henry Spink was
keen to advertise the fact that his studio was "near the Railway
Station" and he advised "Country visitors" to book
direct to Cliftonville. In 1879, a branch railway line called the
Cliftonville Spur was completed, allowing trains from London to travel
direct to Cliftonville and Hove, avoiding the Brighton Terminus.
Henry
Spink believed his prices were very reasonable and in his advertisements
he stated that " the Public are respectfully invited to visit
these studios before paying high prices." In 1878, Henry
Spink charged 1s for a single carte - the same price the West End
Photographic Company was charging in 1864. Cabinet portraits were
priced at 2s 6d for the first copy. Henry Spink advertised "all
kinds of photographs of first rate quality at fixed moderate charges".
He also offered "an instantaneous process for invalids and
children" ( Highly sensitive gelatin plates had been introduced
in the late 1870s reducing exposure times to a fraction of a second
). Henry Spink operated his two photographic studios, the Brighton
branch at 109 Western Road and the Cliftonville branch at 36 Goldstone
Villas, almost up until his death in 1892.
[ABOVE]
A photograph of Henry Joseph Spink's house and studio in Goldstone
Villas, Cliftonville, taken around 1878. Henry Spink's two
sons pose by the entrance and his wife stands at the gate.[COURTESY
OF DENISE DAGEN OF NEW SOUTH WALES] .
1![](DSspinkstudio.jpg)
[ABOVE]
A photograph of 36 Goldstone Villas, Hove, taken in 2003, showing
how the same house looks some 125 years after the picture above was
taken
At
the time of the 1881 Census, the Spink family were residing at 34
Goldstone Villas, Cliftonville, now classified as within the district
of Hove. Henry Spink senior gives his age as 39 and describes himself
simply as "Photographer". Sixteen year old Henry Spink junior
was living at home, but his brother Samuel was a 13 year old scholar,boarding
at The Classical Grammar School, Henfield Road, Cowfold, about 11.5
miles north of Hove. By 1884, probably the result of the addition
of new houses in his road, Henry Spink's house and studio in Goldstone
Villas was re-numbered as No 36.
Henry
Spink junior ( born 1865 Brighton, died 1943 )
Henry
Charles Spink probably assisted his father in his photographic
work throughout his teens and for a time the firm was known
as Henry Spink & Son, but around 1887 Henry Spink
junior set himself up as an independent photographer in Brighton.
Page's Trade Directory of 1888 lists Henry Spink junior
under Photographic Artists and gives the 23 year old photographer's
address as 48 Preston Road. However, by 1890, Henry Spink
junior was operating his father's old studio at 109, Western
Road. Kelly's Sussex Directory of 1890 lists Henry at Western
Road and his father, H. J. Spink at 36 Goldstone Villas, Hove.
At the time of the 1891 Census, twenty-five year old Henry Spink
junior was boarding at an inn called "The Swan" at
40, Borough Street , Brighton. He gives his occupation as "
Photographer" (Employer) ". His father. Henry J Spink
is now residing at his studio at 36 Goldstone Villas with his
wife Sarah. Henry Spink senior gives his profession as "
Photographic Artist " and both he and his wife give their
age as 52. Their youngest son, Samuel George Spink had emigrated
to Australia before 1890 and he was living in Mitchum,South
Australia when the 1891 Census was taken in England on 5th April
1891.
![](DSspink4.jpg)
[
ABOVE and RIGHT ] Two portraits
taken at the Western Road studio of Henry Spink junior around
1890.
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1
[ABOVE]
A carte de visite portrait taken around 1887 when the firm
of Henry Spink & Son was running a studio at 109 Western
Road, Brighton and another at 36 Goldstone Villas.
![](DSspinkP3.jpg)
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On
23rd May 1892, Henry Joseph Spink died in Hove at the age of
53. He must have been a well known figure in the area, as Henry Porter's
The History of Hove, published in 1897 mentions "that clever
photographer Henry Joseph Spink" amongst other notables buried
in St Andrew's churchyard.
In Page's 1893 Directory of Brighton, Henry Spink is listed
as the proprietor of the studios at Western Road and Goldstone Villas,
yet the 1894 edition lists S. G. Spink at both these studios.
Samuel George Spink must have returned briefly to England around
1893 with his Australian wife Elsie Hastwell and his baby son, Sydney.
Early in 1894 Samuel Spink sailed back to Australia with his wife
and son. Samuel Spink returned to Adelaide where he established a
photographic studio. Samuel Spink was also active as a photographer
in Melbourne and Sydney in the early 1900s.
Page's
1895 Directory lists Henry Spink junior at 109 Western Road
and his widowed mother Mrs Sarah Spink at 36 Goldstone Villas.
In
1893, Henry Spink junior had married Isabella Hannah Honner
( born c1868 Brighton ), daughter of Charles Walter Honner, a draper,
and Lucy Honner nee Davey ( born c1834 Lewes ). [ In 1881, widowed
Mrs Honner was living with her two teenage daughters at 17 Norfolk
Road, Brighton ].A son named Sydney was born to Henry and Isabella
Spink in Brighton around 1895. From 1895, Henry Spink junior
ran the studio at 109 Western Road, Brighton, while his mother Mrs
Sarah Spink managed the studio at "Goldstone Villa",
36 Goldstone Villas, Hove. By 1897, the studio at 36 Goldstone Villas
was in the hands of Frank H Berry ( born c1852, Brighton).
Midway through 1899, Mrs Sarah Spink died in Hove at the age of sixty.
It seems that Henry Spink junior sold the Goldstone Villa studio to
the photographer John Weaver Innes ( born c1863 Hackney London
) who formed a partnership with Henry Bate ( born c 1863 London
) previously a manufacturer of guns and bicycles. The partnership
of Innes & Bate was short lived. John Weaver Innes
set up another studio in Hove, but Henry Bate was still taking
photographs at the Goldstone Villa studio in 1913.
Henry
Spink junior moved back to live in Hove around 1896, the year
that his eldest daughter was born. At the time of the 1901 Census,
Henry Charles Spink was living at 7 Addison Road, Hove. Henry Charles
Spink gives his age as 36 and his occupation as 'Photographer, Employer'
. Also living at their home in Addison Road was Henry's 33 year old
wife Isabella and their three children - Sydney, aged 6, Edith Dorothy,aged
4, and Marie, aged 1 ( both daughters had been born in Hove ). Henry
Spink junior was reasonably well off, employing two servants - a 15
year old house maid Mabel Clements from London and 20 year old Gertrude
Pearce, who had been born in Gloucester and was now employed as a
domestic servant.
The
Studio of Henry Spink junior continued at 109 Western Road,
Brighton until 1935. Around 1935 the studio of Spink (Brighton)
Ltd at 109 Western Road amalgamated with the photographic firm
of Jaye & King. Henry Charles Spink died in Ditchling on
13th August 1943, at the age of 78. Henry's younger brother, Samuel
continued as a photographer in Australia, eventually retiring to Gilgandra
in New South Wales, where he died on 20th December 1948, aged eighty.
Samuel
George Spink ( 1868-1948 )
![](DSsamspink.jpg)
[
ABOVE ] A
portrait of Samuel George Spink, aged about 10 years old , taken
by his father Henry Spink senior
[
COURTESY OF DENISE DAGEN OF NEW SOUTH WALES ]
Samuel
G. Spink - Photographer in Australia
Sometime
before 1891, Samuel Spink emigrated to Australia. A family story
suggests Samuel travelled to Australia as a steerage passenger
andarrived with little money, but equipped with a camera and
photographic apparatus. For a couple of years, Samuel Spink
worked as an itinerant photographer in the region around Adelaide.
While travelling in the area, he met Elsie Day Hastwell, the
daughter of the Reverend Edward John Hastwell and Elizabeth
Day. Samuel Spink married Elsie Hastwell (1868-1953 ) on 4th
March 1891 and soon established a permanent studio at Gawler
Place, Adelaide. On the death of his father in 1892, Samuel
Spink returned to Brighton and for a brief period he operated
the Spink studios in Western Road and Goldstone Villas. Samuel
Spink remained in Brighton for less than a year before sailing
back to Australia. Samuel and Elsie Spink and their infant son
Sydney Noel arrived back in Adelaide on 20th March 1894. Samuel
Spink ran his studio in Gawler Place, Adelaide until 1899. Over
the next few years, Samuel Spink established studios in Melbourne,
Victoria, and Sydney, New South Wales, but from 1903 to 1908
he was working in the Adelaide district again. Around 1920,
Samuel Spink and his wife moved to Gilgandra, New South Wales
to be near their eldest daughter Elsie Marjorie (1895 -. 1984
).For the remaining years of his life, Samuel worked as a photographer
from his house in Gilgandra. Samuel Spink died in Gilgandra
on 20th December 1948 at the age of 80.
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![](DSspinkNoel.jpg)
[
ABOVE ] A portrait of Samuel
George Spink's wife Elsie and their first son Sydney Noel
taken in 1893 when Samuel G Spink was running his late father's
studio in Goldstone Villas in Hove. Early in 1894, Samuel
Spink and his family returned to Australia.
![](DSspinkOld.jpg)
[ABOVE
] A portrait of Samuel
George Spink, who made a career as a photographer in Australia,
running studios in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.
[ COURTESY OF
DENISE DAGEN OF NEW SOUTH WALES ]
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![](DSspink65.jpg)
1865
1874
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1866
1875
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1867
1885
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[ABOVE]
A selection of carte de visite backs from the studio of Henry Spink
produced between the years 1865 to 1885.
Acknowledgements
Thanks
to Denise Dagen of New South Wales, Australia, who is descended from
Henry Joseph Spink and provided family photographs and information
on the Spink Family History.
.
Website
last updated: 18th March, 2005
This
website is dedicated to the memory of Arthur T. Gill (1915-1987), Sussex
Photohistorian
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